The singer community in Atlanta has been its own worst enemy for longer than I’ve lived here.
There are singers, of course. With Georgia State University, Emory, Georgia Tech, Morehouse, Spellman, Agnes Scott, The Atlanta Opera, Capitol City Opera, Peach State Opera, ATLVocalite, and more, there are no shortages of opportunities for singers in the city, however, there seems to be a strong disconnect between the singing community and actually supporting the local singers when not directly involved.
I’ve had numerous conversations with people, whether it be at Capitol City Opera, ATLVocalite, Opera on Tap, or The Atlanta Opera, and we’ve all agreed: Something needs to be done. Singers should support each other. They should make it a point to appreciate the talent around them, to think critically, and to appreciate the wonderful and diverse offerings that Atlanta has brought to the table. I, personally, have been involved in one way or another with most of the companies and schools that I’ve listed, though I am but a mortal and can only seem to attend so many events in a given week before my cat, a voraciously affectionate domestic mix named Tash, reminds me that I have duties at home, including filling her food bowl, petting her, telling her that she’s a good girl, and convincing her not to take a nap on my Le nozze di Figaro score while I’m writing supertitles.
This blog, in support of the artists and administrators in the city, hopes to serve as a place to support local singers. Please follow the #SupportLocalSingers hashtag on Instagram and check in on our Facebook page as I journey through some of the amazing singing that I’ve seen since the close of our Le nozze di Figaro in September.
The day after our company opening, Capitol City Opera Company hosted a performance of Made in America: A Concert of American Art Song and Opera, a recital of American music which featured soprano Robin Sewell, mezzo-soprano Allison Nance, and collaborative pianist Catherine Giel.
The recital was intimate, delicately played on a beautiful grand in the sanctuary of Highpoint Episcopal Church, and the recital itself featured a bevy of strong women, keeping the momentum of Giel and soprano Melanie Burbules’s recital in the same series, Empowered: A Celebration of Women’s Voices. The focus on text and poetry was evident in Ms. Nance and Ms. Sewell’s programming, with the former singing a stunning rendition of Lee Hoiby’s Lady of the Harbor, which follows the poetry made famous by the Statue of Liberty herself.
Nance’s voice provides a stability and creamy low that, with a bit more legato in places, could radiate the delicious ambiance of a newly baked loaf of bread, warm from the oven, saturated in a lofty smell that entices the listener. While her humor and integrity were played well during her interpretations of Ives and the like, one of the standout pieces from Ms. Nance’s resonant instrument was the rarely heard “Kiss me not goodbye” from William Schuman’s The Mighty Casey, touted as a baseball opera, which took influence from contemporary American opera and jazz. In this scene, the oft-overlooked Schuman weaves a delicate melody through the form of a parlour song, stretched in an emotive wave that Ms. Nance interwove into the short arietta.
Ms. Sewell’s voice, which I first met during my introduction to Atlanta in 2014, has been a longtime crowd pleasing lyric soprano attached to a personality that, miraculously manages to outshine that of her rich, empathetic voice. Ms. Sewell’s selections, including a difficult and rarely heard Barber set, showed of her control and interest in dynamics, not as simply as loud versus soft, but rather as she is in the sense of a complete package. Ms. Sewell presented both Beth and Amy’s arias from Mark Adamo’s Little Women, last seen in Atlanta at Harrower Opera Workship in 2018, and I found myself as an audience member attempting to decide which role I liked her in more. Her Beth, weak, understanding, with a considerably focused middle and low voice that made the audience, her stand-in Jo, feel the need to weep for their dying sister. Her Amy, on the contrary, explored the upper thrill of her voice, her deceptively striking and nuanced sotto voce that erupted beautifully into the realization, both as a character and (hopefully) as a performer, that he, in fact, is loved, just as the lyrics in Adamo’s libretto stated.
Nothing without the agile and consistent fingers (and whistling lips) of Ms. Giel, who provided a stable soundboard to, as she so eloquently said after the recital, “play all the notes”, which she did with delicate touch and empathy for her collaborators.
Two weeks after their recital came another busy weekend for the singers of Atlanta. September 28th marked Opera on Tap: Atlanta’s September event, a Back to School Bash that toted singers reliving their youths in their first arias, collaborative pianist Grant Jones played.
Hopefully I’ll be able to remember all the singers and their pieces.
In the parlor of Noni’s Neighborhood Trattoria, with a bowl of Moroccan carrot risotto and a diet coke, I listened to new and old Opera on Tap singers expiremented. Margaret McMurray, who has sung with ACO as Susanna and Barbarina in our Le nozze di Figaro, and who serves as one of the new Opera on Tap: Atlanta co-managers, picked two pieces: Batti batti il bel Masetto from Don Giovanni and Juliet’s Waltz from Romeo et Juliette. Her Zerlina, a role that she has revisited, provided a stable, even middle voice and bright vocalism, while her Juliet, which was treated as more of a meme than a performance, was consistent, though not what you’d expect of a Juliet in most professional houses. Tenor William Green, another Opera on Tap: Atlanta officer, lent his substantial and warm heldentenor to Schubert’s Mein, courtesy of Die schone Mullerin. His meme piece, however, was Ferrando’s aria from Cosi fan tutte, which, while impressive in its own right, likely caused Fiordiligi to pass out from the overwhelming emotion that his hefty voice slid into the Mozartian fortitude.
Mezzo-soprano and officer Michelle Miller sang Ruth’s aria from Pirates of Penzance with an astounding low and worked her way through one of the Schubert Standchen’s with success while officer and mezzo-soprano Amber Tittle revisited the off-yellow bible, singing through Il mio bel foco before dropping jaws with a delicate rendition of Dido’s Lament.
Kate Doriot, another veteran of ACO’s Figaro, stopped by to sing the Jewel Song from Faust, which proved to be a musical highlight of the afternoon, even if she almost smacked Grant in the face with an affectionate attempt at acting. She followed up by singing through Mozart’s Bester Jungling for, according to her, the first time in forever. New to Opera on Tap: Atlanta, Ibukun Babalola, who has sung with Capitol City Opera and Harrower Opera Workshop, sang through Vedrai carino from Don Giovanni with a sweet, thrilling soprano voice. Opera on Tap: Atlanta regular Elizabeth Barsalou sang the aria that got her into opera: O zittre night— the Queen of the Night’s first aria from The Magic Flute with bullet-clear coloratura and followed it up with a wonderful rendition of Prendi from L’elisir d’amore.
Tenor JeongMin Huh enjoyed bringing out his staple party aria, E la solita from L’arlesiana to much applause while tenor Ethan Michel opted for Don Ottavio’s Dalla sua pace from Don Giovanni. Sticking with the tenor theme, Michael Vavases dipped into his first aria, E lucevan le stelle from Tosca.
The afternoon was soon tied up with a group rendition of Caro mio ben, much to the chagrin of Grant Jones who reminded us all that even professionals can make mistakes while counting the simplest of arias.
The following evening explored the opening performance of ACO veteran Eva Lukkonen Sullivan and TAO graduate Valerie Pool’s newest venture: ATLVocalite, a group dedicated to more obscure works while promoting performances and vocal health for singers of all styles.
Their excerpts from L’enfant et les sortilege featured a number of wonderful vocalists, accompanied by Ms. Pool’s nimble fingers. In the title role of The Child was ACO veteran Laurie Tossing, who explored her more whimsical side with a substantial mezzo-soprano and boyish charm. Ms. Sullivan took the role of the mother and the dragonfly with grace and dignity, while Michael Lindsay’s turn as the armchair piqued his adult charm and stable baritone.
Nicole Lewis took the stage as the bergere chair, sheperdess, and bat, flitting about a warm, stong soprano voice while ACO Veteran Timothy Marshall pulled chuckled from the audience alongside soprano Natalie Rogers in their cat duet. William Green returned, showing an impressive and interesting variety in his roles as the teapot, Little Old Man, and the Frog, while ACO Veteran Natalie Morgan lent her unique lyric mezzo to the Chinese teacup, though she seemed confused and walked offstage at one point— for the love of live theatre!
Cat Richmond shimmered in an acrobatic flame as the fire and Robin Sewell again impressed, most specifically with her sustained high F near the end of the piece.
The final chorus, rounded out by Shana Bassett and Ethan Michel, provided a much needed tonal center and cadence that beautifully wrapped up the piece.
The evening then turned to an All-Genres Artist Showcase.
Meredith Payne sang and played a rendition of Natasha Bedingfield’s Pocketful of Sunshine to great applause. Kate Doriot replayed her Jewel Song, sans attempting to slap the accompanist, and reminded us of the Van Gogh-esque painting that her voice has become. Ethan Michel stepped into Henrik Egerman singing Later from “A Little Night Music” while Erin Boyle reminded the crowd of the All-Genres specification by providing her beautiful take on Hallelujah. William Green ended the first half of the showcase by singing a tender and rousing Mein lieber Schwan from Lohengrin. His voice, round, warm, unique, is like riding a semi-truck on the freeway— a large instrument sustaining long, lyrical lines with varied amounts of force and nuance. It was a chef’s kiss of a performance.
The second half of the Showcase started with Margaret McMurray, who portrayed a lovely Glinda while singing Popular from “Wicked”, flexing her belting muscles. Nicole Lewis took Marietta’s Lied from Die tote Stadt out for a stunning spin. Cat Richmond played up the All-Genres card by singing an articulate Jazz, Musical Theatre, and Operatic trio of characters in Girl in 14G while ACO Veteran Robert Banks gave his first public performance of the Witch’s Aria from Hansel and Gretel, a role he is performing with The Atlanta Opera’s studio tour.
Allison Nance decided to reprise her role as Meg, singing Things change Jo from Little Women, which she also sang on her recital (mentioned above.) Erin Shepherd Murray took a moment off of a successful teaching career to sing I dreamed a dream from “Les Miserables” while Natalie Rogers enticed the audience with a full performance of the Willow Aria from Otello.
Ethan Michel took stage again, this time singing Dies Bildnis from Die Zauberflote while Arin Francis, a young soprano who I believe was taught by Erin Shepherd Murray, impressed audiences with Mr. Snow from “Carousel” and a lovely rendition of Much More from “The Fantasticks”, allowing Natalie Morgan to round things out with Acerba volutta from Adriana Lecourvreur.
This past Saturday was the most recent Opera on Tap: Atlanta event, which was a Mock Metropolitan Opera Competition, accompanied by Brian Osborne. Though the event featured low turnout, the six competitors (plus one guest singer) enjoyed a wonderful rainy afternoon, this time accompanied by a sweet pea, Parmesan, and truffle oil risotto.
Somehow, I was awarded with the “Best Legato” award for my grade-A performance (read: butchering) of Lonely House from Street Scene as well as my rendition of Un’aura amorosa from Cosi fan tutte. Margaret McMurray again broke standards, singing Adele’s audition aria from Die Fledermaus to high acclaim while moving to sing Queen— no, not of the night, Queen’s Somebody to Love in preparation for an upcoming audition. She was (rightfully) given the “Most Prepared” award.
Returning to Opera on Tap: Atlanta after a brief hiatus was soprano Laura Hernandez, our “Best Dressed” soprano who made one of the non-OOT:A patrons whip out her phone and record her stunning cavatina from Il trovatore while also making us laugh with her “Halloween”-style Come scoglio from Cosi fan tutte. Another OOT:A returner was Samantha Rascle, who sang a beautiful rendition of Prendi from L’elisir d’amore, winning her the “Cutest Baby” award, an inside joke between most of the Atlanta community. How Rascle manages to sound so good while also raising a baby is a mystery that we will never know.
Finally, mezzo-soprano Michelle Miller was featured as our final competitor, singing Va! from Werther and earning the hard-to-come-by “Best Mezzo” award. Many of the ladies decided to end the program with a group rendition of Vissi d’arte from Tosca with soprano Samantha Gold, who did not compete, but attended the event and supported all the competitors.
In closing, Atlanta is busy. Singers are busy. This coming month features performances from Capitol City Opera Company, Opera on Tap, ACO auditions (check our auditions page!), an Atlanta Opera show featuring the men’s chorus, and numerous other musical opportunities! I can only hope to see them all.
